First day of buck.

I understand the need for a hunt to control the deer herd. And I’m glad there are people who want to do it, so they don’t have to have a draft or something. More power to them.

My beef is that the particular patch of woods Haile and I run in every day we can is in Swatara State Park, and like every bit of public land that’s open to hunters, it’s lousy with them today. It’s not a safe place to be, especially for a Rhodesian Ridgeback who’s the color of a whitetail, even if she is wearing a fluorescent orange safety vest. Discretion being the better part of valor, we’ll wait for another day. I know from experience that the population density of hunters in the woods falls off rapidly after the first day. I guess lots get their buck; others have only one day off work; others maybe just lose interest.

I think the Bureau of State Parks should close SSP to hunting. Again, it’s not that I have anything against hunters; I just think this particular park is not a good place for them.

It’s not a really big hunk of forest: It’s 7 or 8 miles long but less than a mile wide at the widest point. It’s essentially a linear park — like the Lebanon Valley Rail Trail or the Appalachian Trail — following the course of the Swatara Creek. It’s heavily laced with busy trails — not only Old State Road and the Swatara Rail Trail, which run its full length, but also a system of intertwining loops for mountain bikers and another for equestrians. The rest of the year, the park is alive with hikers, runners and riders. Really, this park is theirs (read: mine). Why should they have to stay out of it during hunting season?

It’s not like there’s no place else nearby to hunt. Swatara State Park is nearly surrounded by vast tracts of public hunting grounds, including SG 211, known as St. Anthony’s Wilderness, and Fort Indiantown Gap, which is open to hunters by permit.